


The Osgood Code

by Avidfangirlforlife



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-15
Updated: 2017-06-01
Packaged: 2018-11-01 04:20:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10914222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Avidfangirlforlife/pseuds/Avidfangirlforlife
Summary: The Osgood code, where Kate Stewart is concerned. Or, Osgood and Kate and the development of their relationship.





	1. Geneva, 2002

The first time Osgood meets Kate Stewart, or Kate Mullins as she is known at the time, it is under rather strange circumstances. When they meet, it is 10.27 AM on August the 22nd, 2002. Later, Osgood reflects on the strangeness of it all, because statistically nothing life changing should happen on a Thursday. However, just this once, it had. 

The two of them had met in Geneva, and even years later, Osgood would thank a higher power she wasn't sure existed for making her decide to go. At the time, she'd been twenty five and moving on to the last stages of finishing her PhD. So, when she had been invited to Geneva for a secretive work conference, suffice it to say she had been rather thrown. Despite reason telling her to stay put and finish her education, she had responded in the affirmative, curious until the last.

She'd taken a plane to Geneva, with hand luggage and the address of a hotel, absolutely no idea what she was letting herself in for. All she knew was that she would be briefed at some point after her arrival, and that was almost all. Still, never one to enjoy feeling under prepared, she had come to a number of conclusions. None of which could be counted as much more than conjecture or, at a stretch, perhaps hypothesised ideas, before she was briefed.

During the plane ride, she had busied herself with going over the hypothesis', in order to examine whether or not they were simply conjecture, or whether they had some factual backing. Firstly, possibly the most factual, her help was needed for scientific purposes. She had concluded that this may be due to her unique background, namely her father. Secondly, she had been summoned in a very secretive manner, so whatever her specific purpose was, it was possibly related to the government in some way. Thirdly, if said operation was highly secretive and government related, she would have to find a wealth of excuses for her random leave of absence from England. 

That one continually made her wince internally. She hadn't the foggiest what she was going to tell her Mother. She loved her Mother very much, but she wasn't what one would call the easiest of women. Ethel Osgood was a strong willed individual and, where her daughter was concerned, she had strong opinions to match her will. People weren't exactly her strong suit either, she would be the first to admit to that. This had always been the case, especially if they were not like minded. In her opinion, it was why she had always been a daddy's girl growing up. She was a scientist, like her Father.

Osgood would be the first to admit that while science and the secrets of the universe were within her comfort zone, human interaction was strictly not. Although this was a failing on her part, it was just a part of who she was. Growing up, her Dad had always joked that her mind moved too fast to keep her mind on the conversation at hand. He'd always told her that, while perhaps making conversation was something to work on, she would find the people that made it a non-issue. Although she was yet to find them, she was sure she eventually would, her father was only very rarely wrong.

Still, to most of the world Osgood was odd. Most people had always found her so and it tended to make them awkward or uncomfortable in her company. No matter how much she may teh to modulate her behaviour, she was yet to be able to convincingly change it. There were too many subtle nuances, and every time she met a new person she had to analyse and assess how to finely tune this suit them. She always aimed to do this, to set the other person at ease, but it had yet to fully work.

Over the years she had come to the conclusion that many things about the universe could be changed, but a human being was not actively able to change their fundamental characteristics. No matter how much they must surely wish it at times. A leopard and its' spots, and all that malarkey. And so she would admit to her faults, and monitor them in good fashion, even as she continued to experiment with modulation. 

She knew that she was awkward and lacked the basic confidence that most people seemed to naturally possess. Most people found her painfully shy and impossible to draw into conversation, unless it was science related and then people could not curb her enthusiasm. She found the world endlessly fascinating, to a degree which irritated to no end. She asked questions that most people considered irrelevant, and she wasn't prepared to not know the answer. Most other humans put her on edge or made her entirely too uncomfortable for her personal preference. She found it exceedingly hard to be at ease with individuals. She was entirely too curious a person, and as she had gotten older she had found that it put her in situations she was not prepared for dealing with.

Hence how she had somehow found herself in Geneva, with her education postponed for the foreseeable future, a family to explain her absence to, only hand luggage to her name (in the country she was currently in) and no conclusive or concrete idea of what exactly she was walking into. With far too many questions whizzing around in her head and no idea whom to address them to, she found herself in a taxi on her way to her hotel. 

On arriving, she found herself beyond surprised at the lack of allergens attacking her lungs. Nothing in the slightest to cause wheezing, only minimal discomfort and a slight tightening of her chest. It managed to surprise her, due to nearly everything aggravating her asthma, but also because it meant somebody had done their reading on her extensive (and somewhat impressive, if you were inclined to this so) allergies. Even as this raises more questions, she finds herself exceedingly grateful. She had always found complaining about a room or service exceedingly difficult, even when being polite about such things. Knowing herself as Osgood does, she would rather suffer in silence, with sleepless nights and lungs that do not cooperate, than get her room switched.

Precisely an hour and two minutes after her arrival at her room, she receives a phone call from the main desk, to tell her that a black estate car is waiting for her just outside. Talking the lift down, it surprises her at just how daunting she finds the whole experience. She finds herself struggling for breath slightly, breathe wheezing out of her, lungs not cooperating. In her left trouser pocket, her hand catches on her inhaler, the reassurance that it is there calming her substantially.

It is after she gets into the car, after lifting herself into the seat and adjusting herself, after taking a preventative puff off of her inhaler (because you can never be too careful of foreign contaminants) that she realises there is another person in the back seat. It's another woman, maybe ten years older than her, perched in an elegant manner that Osgood is almost envious of. She's very attractive, all grace and poise, with short blonde hair and a well tailored and flattering suit. Not to mention a thin, golden wedding band to match. Not that Osgood had found herself looking, certainly not gaping, not that early on.

The woman smiles at her, all kind eyes and interest, but Osgood can't help but note that there is something sad about her as well. The sadness sits in her eyes, and Osgood tries her hardest not to think about what could have put it there. Because if she starts hypothesising about it, she knows that she won't be able to stop. The two of them look at one another, before Osgood finally manages a tentative smile. It's a smile she doesn't often use, small and slow, before growing and stretching across her face. The woman reflects it back, and the genuine warmth of it fills her from head to toe. And that is the first time she meets Kate Stewart. 

They arrive at UNIT headquarters in Geneva, and Osgood finds herself drawing conclusions again. She is briefed on the situation at hand, some technology of Tegellian origins had fallen to earth, with biological compounds combined, and it needs to be analysed to see whether or not a threat is prevalent or not. Her and Kate become a team, the only females present, a physicist and a biologist, and they are put to work. If Osgood finds herself thinking about how attractive Kate is, she refuses to think about it. Because they are a team and Kate is married and that is just not somewhere she is willing to go.

To say that her and Kate hit it off from the get go would be an overstatement. The pair of them are paired together with no time limits set upon their project, two women against a mass of men. Both are scientists, brilliant in their respective fields. Both come from similar backgrounds of UNIT descent, and not very far into working together, they find that their fathers had too. Both, by nature, are very reserved characters, undoubtedly for different reasons, but both seem to find trusting in others exceedingly difficult. Still, the two of them muddle through as a team, two women against a field of male scientists on the same assignment, and work together.

Even if their friendship is not immediate, the two of them make a remarkable team. It surprises most within headquarters, that two women with such vastly different scientific backgrounds and characters can work together so seamlessly .Their research methods are nothing if not meticulous, but also happen to be brilliant. The two of them develop a system, working around one another in the lab, helping where it is needed but not encroaching upon one another. If either require assistance, the other is there in an instant, only requiring a quiet murmur as invitation.

To Osgood, it is a wonder, to have a partner she can work with when putting in so little effort to get along with. In the lab, the two of them click. It's strange to her, having such a brilliant partner. Her mind seems to work as fast as Osgood's, although it doesn't make her half as awkward as it makes Osgood. The two of them draw the same conclusions, within moments of one another. She finds that it is a privilege to have such a partner to work with, so much so that she almost comes to dread it ending. Not that she does, because that would be selfish. The assignment ending would mean that the earth was safe once again, which is obviously Osgood's main priority. If a tiny part of her holds selfish wishes before this, she works hard to keep it concealed, to not think about it.

Outside of their professional relationship, a slow friendship blooms. It takes weeks to even begin to appear, but she can't help but feel that it is the most organic way for it to occur. Both of them are very reserved by nature, but they also happen to be the only women scientists hired by UNIT for the assignment. Naturally, the two gravitate towards one another, away from the self important men whom seem to view them as somehow lesser. A growing sense of camaraderie pulls the two together, and the two begin to build a tentative friendship.

Much later on, if someone were to ask Osgood for the deciding moment in the two of them becoming closer, she could pinpoint the exact moment. Her and Kate had been a team for a little over four months, working together for long hours every day, when a male scientist by the name of Jenkins had decided that it was a stellar idea to try and get Osgood to sleep with him.

He had been relentless, even when faced with her decided disinterest. Kate had been saved by the wedding band she wore on her left hand, which Osgood found misogynistic unto the last. In their heads Kate had been claimed already, but Osgood was fair game, despite her obvious disinterest. One day, on the last day of his pursuit, he had come by their lab and asked her out to lunch when Kate had not been present. Eventually, she had told him that her disinterest stemmed from her lack of interest in men, because she was a lesbian.

Rather than him letting up at this, he had tried to push the point even harder. Even years later, Osgood can distinctly remember the nastiness of the situation. Him in her personal space, her reaching for her inhaler and not being able to find it as the wheezing started, phrases such as 'turning' and 'not having met the right man' being thrown around.

And then Kate had been there, placing her inhaler in her left hand, glaring at the man until he had backed away. She hadn't said anything, just glared, and he had left. She hadn't quite saved Osgood, because she hadn't been in danger, but she had helped exponentially. From then on, things between them had been different.

Their friendship had grown, from a tentative thing to something solid, foundations and all. Kate started to tell her about her life. About being the daughter of the UNIT legend, the Brigadier. About her sons, Gordy and Charlie, both away at boarding school. About her husband cheating and the divorce she had applied for just before Geneva. She shares so many details of her pain and happiness with Osgood, and being so trusted by another person is a foreign feeling.  
She tells Kate about her life in return. About her pretty older sister, already married with two children and a handsome husband. About her strained relationship with her Mother, whose nose crinkles like she's smelled something bad whenever Osgood mentions a girlfriend, or her love life. About all of her hopes for the future and what it may bring.

Somehow the two of them bond, and it is wonderful and strange and new to Osgood, who has never had a friend like this before. And so, if when she thinks Kate isn't looking she stares more than she probably should, she ignores it. And if she dreams of her in the early hours of the morning, it isn't something she will ever admit to. And if her heart beats faster and her cheeks stain with a light blush when they stand shoulder to shoulder in the lab, she won't pay attention to it. Because Kate is straight, and still marries, even if she is in the process of a divorce. Because for the first time in her life, she has a friend whom isn't her Father. 

A real friend, who cares about her as Osgood, the individual. And it really isn't something worth messing up for a passing fancy. So she tells herself that is all it is, a passing fancy, something she will get over eventually, and she lets herself enjoy having a real friend, because that is a wonderful thing.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the summer of 2003, Kate's divorce is finalised and she gains full custody of her children. Strangely, Osgood finds herself becoming part of fixture of the Stewart household.

In the May of 2003, Kate's divorce is finalised. After spending more than fourteen years of her life as Kate Mullins, becoming Kate Stewart again comes as a shock to her system. It is a shock that she takes well, but it is a shock nonetheless. It is the little things, Osgood observes, that seem to be hardest for Kate to shake off. For instance, her most prominent nervous habit is to twist her wedding band, normally located on the fourth finger of her left hand. It's something she does when her thoughts are running too fast, and she can't make them link in the way she wants. Not having the ring there shocks Kate every time her fingers fail to locate it.

Osgood has noticed, on more than one occasion, that there is something almost relieved in Kate's air, now that she is divorced. She knows that such a process must take its' toll on a person. It must be stressful and harrowing, and somewhat heartbreaking. To lose that commitment and all that it represents. To break all those promises made, when you felt so sure and so certain, she knows that it cannot be easy. Especially considering Kate had been the one who's promises had been left intact, whilst her husband had cheated (Osgood won't acknowledge her opinion of the man out loud, especially not in front of Kate, because that isn't what Kate needs to hear, but she thinks he must be mad). But the relief is logical, to Osgood at least, because the process of having her life torn apart is finally settled.

Something about Kate seems lighter somehow, almost as though the weight of the world has been lifted from her shoulders. Every time Osgood sees her(which is often) she seems to be standing taller, growing into herlsef more and more with every passing day. In a way, it almost seems as though the finalisation of her divorce has acted as a reminder of the person she once was. It is an intense change, one that Osgood feels extremely gratified to be allowed to witness. To know that she is so trusted by Kate is something she treasures, because it is (as is often the case where Kate is concerned) a very new feeling.

Since the end of their work in Geneva, not quite five months previously, the two of them had somehow managed to stay extremely close. Their situation is most probably aided, Osgood thinks, by the fact that they are both based in London. Evidently, the two of them can not be in as close contact as they were in Geneva, as necessities must, but the pair of them seem to find themselves in each other's company more often than not. Osgood still finds it surprising, how close the two of them have grown. She had scarcely dared to let herself hope for a continuation of their friendship back on English soil. But then again, she supposes, friendship is a concept she had always had a hard time trying to wrap her head around.

Their friendship had developed to fit their return to everyday life. Although the pair of them could no longer spend such a large quantity of time together (that had always been a given), the time they did spend together was always of the best quality. Their friendship had adapted to meet the demands of daily life, something that was much more challenging than life in Geneva had been.

One such challenge had arisen when the divorce had been finalised. As she had wished, Kate had gained sole custody of her sons, both of whom had been away at boarding school. As soon as she had been able, Kate had moved their schooling from full boarding to day boarding, so that she could have them at home with her. A Mother didn't like to be separated from her children if she didn't have to be. Osgood had met both of the boys and had been struck by how like Kate the pair of them had been. Gordy, at 13, was his Mother's double in boy form, whereas Charlie, at 12, was obviously a mix of both his parents where looks were concerned, but his mannerisms were all Kate, through and through.

As a general rule, she had never been good with children, but with Kate's boys she had been determined to try her hardest from the very beginning. Continually whilst in their presence, she had found herself surprised, both due to how comfortable she felt and how little she had to try. The boys were smart and funny and incredibly astute. They were fascinated by science and somehow, much like their mother, they made Osgood feel at ease.

 

As the summer progressed, Osgood found herself as a frequent visitor in the Stewart household, visiting as often as possible. There was something about Kate's home that seemed to set both women at ease, and it was a feeling that both seemed to enjoy. Feeling at home in another's house was a foreign feeling, to say the least, but Osgood had found that she lived not feeling like an imposition. It was something that she kept a stern eye on, at all times. She could safely say that Kate was her most trusted friend, and that was something she would say without hesitation. But that was all it could be, whether in her mind or not. Because Kate was freshly divorced and very straight.

Still, throughout the summer of 2003 Osgood became part of the fixture of the Stewart household. Attending dinner on a Tuesday and Thursday, helping the boys with their summer work, joining the small family unit for their weekly walk every Sunday morning. The fondness she found herself feeling for the three individuals struck her at odd intervals. When she was brushing her teeth, when tending to her window boxes (which insisted on growing in solidarity, despite the polluted air of the city), when doing the dishes.

On a rather ordinary Saturday in August, rather out of the blue, such a moment of fondness struck her unawares. The four of them had been gathered in the living room, sat akimbo on the floor, furniture shoved haphazardly into corners, working on the boys summer projects. Osgood had excused herself to the bathroom, full of a warm and sort of giddy feeling. A few minutes later, she had returned, only to find the content feeling in her chest expand tenfold.

There hadn't been anything in particular different about the scene from when she left it. Kate had a son on either side, their work spread around them, spiralling across the room. She'd been deep in explanation about something or the other, hands moving with her, painting a picture with her gestures. Both of the boys had been enraptured, awed by whatever their mother was saying.

It was a moment Osgood could not intrude in, too complete was the domesticity of the scene. She had paused at the doorway, content to observe and not be seen. She had found herself leaning against the doorway, studying the small family unit before her, so happy in one another's company. She'd adjusted her glasses so they sat more comfortably on her nose, content to watch.

Seeing Kate so at ease, so at home amongst her things and her boys, struck something deep within Osgood's chest. Kate was truly happy, completely so, for the first time since her and Osgood had met, more or less a year previously. With the late afternoon sun shining through the front window, Kate in her animated fashion made quite the picture. It was a scene Osgood was sure would stick with her until her last days.

Moments later, almost as if sensing her presence, Kate's eyes had tracked up and met hers across the room. A soft smile had spread across her face as she paused in her actions, the corners of her eyes crinkling, the invitation in them evident. The warmth in her chest seemed to expand exponentially, almost unexplainably in that moment, because it made her feel less like an intruder and more a part of the family scene before her. Because the look in Kate's eyes told her that she was welcome. She was wanted.

She rejoined the three of them, easing herself down to their level and wiggling herself into some semblance off comfortable position. The four of them had worked on the projects for the rest of the evening, until the boys had found themselves distracted by hunger. Somehow, between the petitions of the three of them, they cajoled Kate into letting them order pizza. When they settled around the front room with their takeaway, Osgood was struck once again by the domesticity. But this time, it was because she felt like a part of the scene, rather than just a keen observer. There to take part in the moment, rather than to take note of the colossal shift in her closest friends' character.

It was a change she was growing to love, as unexpected as it may be. So used was she to observing others from the side lines, carefully watching but never involved, that to be included and even wanted, was something she treasured. Sitting in the fading sunlight of the Stewart front room, surrounded by a family unit made up of individuals that had come to mean so much to her, eating pepperoni pizza and watching the Simpsons with the boys' laughter echoing around her, she felt at home.

Truly and completely at home. So at ease and at peace, that for a moment she wasn't sure who she was. Feeling completely comfortable, no matter where she was or who she was with, was not a typical Osgood trait. But she could honestly say that for once, she felt completely relaxed. At ease with her surroundings and the people around her. 

Kate and her sons, each (at the very least in Osgood's opinion) so very unique and wonderful. Something about the family group seemed to draw her into it. Each member bounced off of one another in the best of ways, harmonious in a way that Osgood had never before known was possible. And when she was around them, she could often feel herself doing the same. The three of them made her feel included, in a seemingly effortless way, almost as though it happened in a natural way.

On this one particular evening, the four of them sit in the living room, even after the sun sets, only the light of the TV lighting the room. The room is quiet, almost as if the four of them (despite two of them still very much being children, although they're both Kate Stewart's children, Osgood supposes) wordlessly agree that to move would be to shatter the spell. To talk would break the wonderfully warm evening the four of them have constructed around them. Which is something none of them want, not just yet anyways.

Eventually, it starts to get late, and the boys start to get tired. The pair of them head up to bed, after hugging both their Mother and Osgood goodnight, both yawning on their way out of the room. Osgood can head them both shuffling around slowly upstairs, suggesting that the productive day had finally caught up with them both. Still, it leaves her and Kate alone in the quiet house, both content to just be in one another's presence.

Osgood knows that she should excuse herself for the night, say goodnight and head out to catch one of the late tubes home. Logically, she knows that she should already be in bed, ready for the heavy work day she has ahead of her tomorrow. She knows that, but she is loathe to be the one to break the trance of the evening. Both her and Kate have work in the morning, will regret the lack of sleep come six am when they have to roll out of bed, but neither make a move to end the evening.

Instead, they stay side by side in the couch, staring up at the ceiling, shoulders almost touching but not quite. Osgood knows that if she were to lean half a inch to the left, hers and Kate's shoulders would be in contact. She knows, because she calculated it, because the two of them are always close, but in moments such as this (which have become surprisingly frequent over the summer months) neither of them ever move to bridge the tiny gap. Tiny but impenetrable. She can feel the heat of Kate's shoulder resting just next to her, almost but not quite touching. 

She can feel it, but she knows that she will never be the one to breech the space. The two of them may grow to be as close as it is possible for two autonomous beings to be, but she will never cross the line from friendship to more. Because, in this realm of new possibilities, there are only a few things she can be sure of.

1). She knows that she has feelings for Kate not necessarily stronger than friendship, but most definitely different from it.  
2). She knows that their friendship is too important to her to jeopardise for something that may not work out in the long run.   
3). Kate has never confirmed herself to be anything other than straight, so Osgood will presume until otherwise informed.   
4). Kate has only just gotten her divorce finalised, meaning that she needs time to process and heal, and springing something new and unchartered on her would be so far from fair.   
5). Although Kate may look at her in a less than friendly way at times, and although at such times her eyes may be far too intense for friends, Osgood can't be the one to take the first step, because where Kate is concerned she knows with the utmost certainty that she just isn't brave enough for that.

So for the rest of the evening, they sit in almost perfect but companionable silence, shoulder to shoulder. When Osgood eventually leaves, after she has realised the time and calculated that she may just about have time to rush and catch the last tube of the night, Kate stands by the front door to wave her off. Osgood knows that she watches her hurriedly walk away until she is around the corner, but finds herself thankful that Kate can see her back and not her front. Otherwise, she would be able to see the smile plastered across her face, which would be slightly embarrassing.

She knows that Kate will sit up, until she receives a confirmation text that Osgood got home safely (because that is just how Kate Stewart functions as a person, and it is endearing to no end). She knows that she will, most probably fall asleep thinking about Kate and her wonderful little family unit. Knows that she will most probably dream about being an active and full time part of such a unit. Knows that she will wake up feeling guilty about said dream, but will never acknowledge that it actually occurred with her mind. 

She also knows, deep down, that there is something building between her and her closest friend. She knows that it is something deeper than anything she has ever felt before, or it will be by the time it flourishes. She knows that such things must be waited for, until all peoples involved are ready for such a thing. She knows this and resolves that for Kate and her family, she would wait until the end of time. Even then, Osgood thinks, if whatever is building never came to pass, she would be content with her lot, because Kate and her family not only make her feel wanted, but also make it so that feeling such a way isn't such a foreign feeling. And that, she knows, is worth the world.


	3. December 2005, The Tower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Osgood's first day at UNIT.

On a Tuesday morning, in the December of 2005, Osgood wakes and finds herself faced with a rather surreal reality. Today is due to be the start of her career at UNIT and everything feels so strange that she is almost certain it is a dream. She would be lying if she said she hadn't pinched herself several times (on the inside crook of her elbow) just to check. Certainly, she considers the possibility of the involvement of dream crabs, and the fact that her brain could be dissolving at this second, while all her dreams come true. And though that seems slightly far fetched, she can't rule out some form of alien interference.

She finds herself awake before dawn, almost two full hours before her alarm, nervously anticipating the day to come. She's always been an early riser, especially when necessity decrees it, but being awake at such an hour is odd, even for her. She wake up alone in her double bed, as she has almost every morning for the past three years. When she opens her eyes, though the world remains starkly out of focus, it fully hits her that today is the day, on which she will join UNIT on a permanent basis.

For as long as she could remember, it had been her biggest ambition, to join UNIT on a permanent basis. It was an opportunity she had dreamed about for years, since she had first learnt what UNIT was. To follow in the footsteps of her father, to work side by side with Kate (whom had been working there on a more permanent basis for a little under two years), to make a difference in the attitudes towards the extraterrestrial.

It was something she had longed for with her entire being, even if that was something she would never admit to. Yes, it had always been a dream, one that she had worked diligently towards since she had been a teenager. One that had stopped being a stretch when she had been summoned to Geneva. But now, it was a dream within her reach. Hopefully, by the end of her first day, it would be a dream that was firmly within her grasp. 

Osgood had always liked to think that she was a realistic person. Able to face reality when it came calling. Her being place permanently at UNIT seemed like a realistic goal. After all, she had the qualifications and the experience to support it. Which, without her being egotistical or immodest, spoke for itself.

At promptly 6.45 AM, she set off from her flat to join other commuters bustling their way on and off of the tube, through the crowds to the city centre. Trying not to let her nerves show through external ticks and other such things, she found herself readjusting her glasses on her nose at least eleven times. At Tower Hill, she alighted, trying her utmost to keep her nerves hidden. Best foot forward and all that. She found that, as she walked, she had to actively prevent herself from chewing her lip or readjusting her glasses. 

When she arrived at the spot where she was supposed to meet Kate, an insignificant bollard which apparently acted as a useful meeting place, she nervously checked her watch to ensure that she wasn't late. After all, it wouldn't do to be late when Kate was the one whom would introduce her to the team of scientists she led beneath the Tower. However, Osgood, being the type of person whom never arrived less than fifteen minutes earlier than she had to for anything (even meeting her best friend before her first day of work) found that she was, in fact, incredibly early.

Her phone vibrated in the pocket of her chinos, and upon checking it, she found that she had texts from both Charlie and Gordy, presumably wishing her luck on her first day. The first read "Don't panic Osgood, you've got this." She smiled to herself as she read it, because it was so typically Charlie, addressing the heart of the issue and reassuring all in one. The second read "Remember to chill, Mum's not a dragon lady, you'll be fine." This makes her smile grow exponentially bigger, because the pair of them know that Kate can be a dragon lady when she is cross. The exception to this seemingly being the three of them, whom she can never quite seem to stay mad at.

She stands in the chilly morning air, smiling fondly but slightly absently down at her phone, as she thinks about Kate and her boys. Over the past two and a half years, she had watched the three of them grow into themselves. The boys had grown into model citizens, polite and well rounded individuals, through and through. Both were exceptionally smart, and both held the sort of drive to achieve and strive that she had always associated with their Mother. She had watched Kate grow from a relieved but slightly sad individual, into a thoroughly happy woman, a devoted single mother, and the best of friends.

She stands there and waits for Kate for what must be about fifteen minutes, although it feels like an indeterminable amount of time, barely noticing the chilly air of the December morning. She stands there, thinking of her best friend and her wonderful little family, until she feels a warm hand on her shoulder. Though it startles her out of her reverie, it doesn't surprise her in the slightest. It's a gentle hand, long fingered but thin, and it is a familiar gesture. A thoroughly Kate like gesture.

As she turns to face her best friend, she knows that her nerves must be evident upon her face. Especially if the slowly growing smile on Kate's face is anything to go by. Even through her stomach twisting and turning in knots, the beauty of such a smile stuns her and manages to calm her frayed nerves. Not that she would ever admit out loud to why that may be. It seems to Osgood that the pair of them are at a stalemate for such things. She thinks that both of them know that there is something unnamable between them, something much deeper and scarier than friendship, but neither of them are quite ready to risk what is between them by broaching the subject.

At least, she thinks Kate feels it too. Surely, she thinks, after all this time, Kate must see the way her cheeks colour at times, must see something more than just friendship in her eyes. Something more that she is almost certain she has seen play upon Kate's face at times, not that she will ever ask about it. She shakes herself out of such thoughts, reassuring herself that such tangents can be pursued at another time. Right now, there are more pressing matters at hand.

Such as the soy vanilla latte Kate presents her with, adding little flourishes for dramatic effect (something so thoroughly Kate, done to try and set her at ease, that it makes her mouth dry even more). And the fact that she is about to start the first day of her dream job, with her best friend. Her best friend, whom is (at least, as soon as they pass through the gates) officially going to be her boss, as head scientific consultant. 

As they begin to walk towards the entrance, Osgood can feel her heart hammering in her chest, beating so loudly she could almost has herself convinced that Kate can hear it too. The pair of them walk so close together that at points, their shoulders brush, in a familiar pattern that comforts Osgood, even as it makes the blood rush to her cheeks. It is something she doesn't think Kate will notice, or if she does she won't link it to herself (Osgood hopes it just seems like a mixture of nerves and excitement) because her cheeks are often dusted in pink in Kate's company.

She finds herself considering how the pair of them working together, with Kate as her superior and not her equal, will affect their dynamic. Can the pair of them still act as familiar in the work place? Does she need to figure out how to separate 'work place Kate' from 'at home Kate'? Does she have to pretend to not know this wonderful woman better than she knows the back of her own hand? Should she have worked out a strategy at an earlier time than now, when she is already wali g into her new workplace? Osgood can feel her heart starting to race at an even faster pace, as she works herself into a panic over such an important detail, her breathe beginning to wheeze as her airways cease fully cooperating.

She pauses mid-stride, left hand reaching into her pocket for her inhaler as she feels her chest start to tighten. Before she can withdraw it from the depths, almost before her fingers can even close around it, an inhaler is presented to her, from somewhere to her right. Knowing Kate, it is already prepped, shaken and uncapped, the medicine ready for her to inhale. She takes a puff, and is relieved to feel her airways easing almost immediately. Taking a minute to focus on her breathing, she registers the sounds of Kate's careful breaths off to her right and she uses this to centre herself.

Within a minute, her breathing is back to normal. She can breathe with relative ease, the wheezing of air into her lungs having ceased. She registers Kate hovering, her hand resting upon her shoulder. Squeezing lightly, almost as if to reassure Osgood of her presence. She hovers, in order to be able to help if it is needed, but not wanting to crowd her. Once again, Osgood is struck by how very Kate such a gesture is. It's understated in its subtlety, very much present but not overwhelming. Showing the ever present concern that she knows Kate feels for her well being but not mollycoddling her excessively.

When she is certain both her breathing and panic are under control, she starts to walk towards the gates once again, Kate by her side. She determines to follow Kate's cue, because after all, there isn't exactly time to have an in depth discussion about work boundaries now. Overthinking it and analysing won't help her out all that much now. Especially given that they are already at work, and not just walking towards it from a suitable distance. Kate is her friend, and now her boss. It is as simple as that, and she intends to just follow Kate's lead. 

First on the agenda for the day, Kate informs her, is her formal introduction to the team. Osgood finds herself wondering exactly how professional a setting it will be. Or, at the very least, the team she will share a lab with. Those are the important ones, the ones she has to get along with, because they will become her first port of call. And hopefully (given enough time) her friends. These are the people she has to be able to trust, because she will be working with them for the foreseeable future. 

She tells Osgood this with a funny sort of smile on her face and Osgood is struck by it because it is rather enigmatic, and rather decidedly unKate like, as smiles go. It is almost as if she is privy to something that Osgood is not. Osgood doesn't ask though, partly because she think Kate wants her to (although, if going by the smile, she doubts Kate would tell her anything) and partly because, ever practical, she surmises that whatever it is, she will surely find out shortly.

The pair of them take the lift down to UNIT (all strictly below ground level of the Tower), and Osgood tries not to rock nervously onto the balls of her feet, somewhat mystified by the smile still very much present on Kate's face. When they get to the level of her new lab, Osgood finds herself having to exert a conscious effort to prevent herself from squirming. Due to both the mixture of nerves and excitement she found herself feeling and the look on Kate's face, the effort she had to put in, simply as a preventative measure astounds her slightly. Although she couldn't quite put a name to it, there was something in that smile which made her feel something she could only comfortably describe as 'things'. 

When they arrived at lab 00-6, Osgood found herself slightly disappointed at a missed opportunity, not being able to describe it as the "Bond Lab". Still, she took a deep breath and entered the lab behind Kate, whom had somehow (in the millisecond before the door had swung inwards) managed to school her features into a friendly but very professional smile. Yet again, this was such a Kate skill, that Osgood found herself set at ease. The transition from friend to the boss-lady was so complete that Osgood almost found herself questioning why Kate hadn't decided to go into politics.

Inside the lab, there were two other scientists. There was something almost settling about the team, whom both paused in their activities upon hearing the door open. As soon as they spotted Osgood (after the initial sense of unease at seeing their boss first thing in the morning, which would usually suggest there was some form of alien related problem of quite a pressing nature) both relaxed substantially and traded nervous smiles with her.

Kate, having already given Osgood her formal induction into UNIT, with an extremely thorough and extensive run through of all of the security protocols the evening before (all of the endless paperwork had been filled out before such a briefing could take place) sets about introducing Osgood to her new lab partners. Osgood can feel a certain level of anticipation from the other scientists, and she finds herself looking to Kate, awaiting an introduction.

Osgood finds herself tensing, even as she looks at Kate (whom, now she is looking at her, can see the wide grin plastered on her face) waiting for an oddly formal introduction. So when Kate introduces her as "Osgood, just Osgood, brilliant addition to the team and close personal friend", she can help but blink in shock. She hadn't known what to expect, but that was certainly not it. For a moment, all she can do is gape at Kate, not quite understanding what she had said. Thinking that maybe, just maybe, it was possible that she was actually dreaming. Or perhaps hallucinating, or perhaps aliens were involved.

But then, it registers that the other scientists (Mali and Grant) are grinning. And, although Kate had entered in the most professional manner she could possibly have mustered, that had all changed as soon as Osgood had stopped paying full attention to her. Instead, the beaming smile that Osgood loved was playing across her face, the sort of smile that only usually emerged when they were in the privacy of Kate's living room. And her eyes, Osgood notes, are trained on her and not seemingly taking in anything else. Her full scope of focus is trained upon Osgood, and apparently have been since they entered. Her eyes are intense and focused on her in a way she had become used to seeing, full of something Osgood is never quite able to name.

It steals the breathe from her lungs, and almost makes her forget that they are in company. It is yet another stolen moment that just friends do not share, and yet the pair of them are just friends. Something profound passes between them, and Kate's smile softens into less of a beam into more of a gentle smile. Full of the sort of tenderness that she seems to reserve for just her sons and Osgood. She forgets entirely about the company they are in, forgets entirely about where they are. The most impulsive part of her is screaming at her,urging her to finally, finally kiss Kate in this moment. While her eyes are full of such tenderness, and something Osgood can only describe as longing.

She forgets that they are in company, not to mention her new work place, entirely. That is, until one of the two scientists of her new team coughs tactically. A small, somewhat embarrassed noise, meant to alert but not to disturb (even after months of working with the pair of them, Osgood could not tell you which one of them it had been). It succeeds in its' purpose, however, lifting them from the moment that friends should definitely not be sharing.

She takes a while to look around her new lab, examining every detail in depth, and to chat to her new team about projects the three of them will be working on. Noting almost immediately that their minds seem to be complimentary to the utmost (something she will later learn is what Kate was smiling about). She oohs and ahhs an appropriate amount over all of the high tech and wonderful equipment, trying her utmost not to geek out too hard, not this early into a new working relationship. 

Then, after what is more than an appropriate amount of time to spend looking at lab equipment, Kate takes her on a tour of UNIT. For some reason, she has been given the highest level of security clearance, which is decidedly not afforded to every one, so Kate shows her all there is to see. She finds herself slightly in awe of her surroundings, especially when she sees Kate's unending enthusiasm about most of it. To actually be living your dream, she thinks, without being too cliche, is possibly as good as it gets. If done so with one of the people you care most about in this world, it is undeniably even better.

By the time they are done with the grand tour, it's lunchtime. Osgood and Kate had found themselves spending a happy morning wandering around UNIT. With Kate explaining various projects to her, she'd found her enthusiasm growing ten fold. Working in such a place, she thinks, is more than she had dared to dream about.

The two of them take lunch away from the tower, eating at a tiny cafe that Kate swears by. It's simple and wonderful, thoroughly Kate. She can't help but feel that life is good. In the December of 2005, sat at a table in a tiny cafe not far from the Tower of London, Osgood learns what it means to be truly happy and heading in the direction she has always wanted to head in. Her and Kate are on the brink of something they have been approaching for more than two years, she has the (newly acquired) job of her dreams, the jobs she has wanted ever since she was a little girl (science leads, and this is something that means she can make a positive impact on the world) and she is really and truly happy.

She resolves that she is willing to wait as long as it takes for things to get to perfect, because there really is no rush. For now, she has a wonderful job to settle into, with endless research possibilities available to her. She has Kate and her boys, all a permanent fixture in her life. And she has a routine and a life, and there is so much for her to enjoy. Complications may come, in the form of aliens or more complex aspects of feelings between her and Kate, but that is something to address another day.

Sat at a tiny table, in a tiny cafe with Kate, she resolves that what is growing is worth waiting for, whenever Kate is ready. Before, it had been a case of what if it came to pass. Now, Osgood could clearly see that it was very much a case of when. No question of it not coming to pass. And so, she would wait. Patiently and calmly, in a very Osgood like manner. In the meantime, she thinks, she'd quite like the goat's cheese panini for lunch.


	4. London, July 2009

By the time the summer of 2009 has arrived, Osgood can't help but feel as though the world is screaming at her, whilst it waits for something to happen. With the utmost certainty, she can feel the edge of the precipice beneath her feet. If she were to tip forwards, push her weight onto the balls of her feet and rock, she would fall over the edge. She knows, somewhere deep within her, that Kate can feel it to.

She knows as well, that Kate has accepted it. It seems that at times, the pair of them are just waiting with baited breath, willing something to happen but content to wait for it. The two of them have been waiting for years, to wait a little longer doesn't seem like too much of a stretch. Every day, she could swear to the two of them grow closer. Intertwining in a way she wasn't sure was possible, before it had begun to happen.

At times, although they are not yet a couple, it seems that she hardly knows where she begins and Kate ends. She thinks, they are so closely connected. From when she was small, Osgood had heard of couples whom could seemingly have whole conversations in less than a second, with just their eyes. Had heard about couples whom seemed to understand exactly what their partner was thinking and feeling, all without even trying. Her parents had been such a couple.

As a child, it had fascinated her on a scientific level, tickling her curious eight year old mind. It had struck her as a mystery, all those years ago. That two minds and two souls could be so wholly connected, could understand one another on such a level. Even as an adult, before she had met Kate, of course, something about it just hadn't rung true. Of course, she had seen it with her own eyes. But it had always been something even her brilliant mind had failed to comprehend.

Until, that is, she had felt it. It hadn't been immediate, not by any stretch. She supposed that it was a connection that was bonded into, something that rooted its way into a relationship after time. Still, over the previous years, it seemed that her and Kate had formed some kind of empathetic bond. The other woman seemed to be able to read her mind at times, although Osgood still hoped that wasn't something that happened often. When it mattered, they could understand exactly what the other one needed, and neither of them seemed to struggle with it too much.

Perhaps it was just something that was bred with familiarity. Something that grew from knowing another person as well as, if not better, than one knew themselves. Perhaps no such link existed, and it was simply knowing another so intrinsically that caused such an understanding. Osgood supposed, that after studying Kate, after having the privilege of knowing her on such a level for so many years, it could very well be either option. 

By the time the summer of 2009 came around, Osgood had found herself longing for the next step. It wasn't that she had come to mind the waiting, because she was ever the patient person, but the need she felt for Kate within her seemed to grow with every passing day. She hadn't known it was possible, to feel such want. Such longing. Over the years, she had discovered that it very much was. And she knew, on an instinctual level, that she wasn't alone in such longing. It wasn't pining, it was a mutual agreement to wait, to see where life took them.

Still, after all that had changed around them over the past four and a half years, she supposed that the constancy of their friendship was rather necessary to both of them at this particular moment. Since 2005, UNIT had become a science based operational organisation, rather than the more militaristic organisation it had originated as.

After Torchwood had fell, late in the previous year, Kate had been brought to the helm, to steer what remained of the organisation through the wreckage. She'd taken on the challenge with surprising grace, adapting to the ever changing role with relative ease. Although she hadn't wanted to lead, she had been chosen. Osgood believed that it was her lack of want which made her so good at the job. She wasn't power hungry or arrogant, as many others would have been in her place.

Osgood had found herself as head scientific consultant, rather by accident. Filling Kate's shoes hadn't been an easy process, even in the slightest. But Osgood had found that she revelled in the challenge it gave her. With Kate at the head of organisation, having adopted the motto of "science leads", UNIT had flourished. Operations were carried out more covertly, cover up stories were made more convincing and the ideal of "shoot now, worry later" had been discarded along with the more questionable employees (many of whom had been in the military aspect of the organisation).

Still, the changes in position had meant much longer working hours, which really was saying something. It was something both of them had accepted with relative ease. Osgood because it wasn't as if she had someone waiting for her at home (the only person she was interested in being at work with her all the time) and Kate because it distracted her from the fact she now had a quiet home (devoid of the boys, because both were away for the summer, visiting their father before Gordy started his second year of university and Charlie his first). Often, the two of them found that they were the last ones in the Tower base. If Osgood made a point of not leaving until Kate left, well Kate didn't need to know.

One day, quite early in July, the two of them leave the Tower relatively early, at least for them. For one, it is still light outside, a feat unto itself. Even if it is July. It strikes her as odd, that it has become so common place for both of them to arrive so early and leave so late. Still, for once they have most of the evening off. Some downtime in the hectic schedule both of them seem to have adopted.

It's been a while since the pair of them had been able to spare a substantial amount of time outside of work for one another, so they decide to go for dinner. They don't go anywhere fancy, not by a long stretch. For one, they've bot come straight from work, so they're still dressed for the office. For another, neither of them are in the mood for somewhere extravagant, because it's really not something either of them consider necessary.

They choose a little French Bistro, not far from the Tower, that they've been meaning to try for months. Neither of them had seemed to find the time, because more recently there had always been more pressing things to do with their time off. Such as spending time with the boys, family dinners and lazy Sunday evenings spent in Kate's front room. Still, they have the time and nowhere more pressing to be, so they go for dinner.

Both of them are impressed by the extensive wine list, which is really rather impressive for such a small place. The food is good, the wine is complimentary and the company is exquisite. Osgood notices, almost immediately, that the atmosphere of the restaurant is somewhat more intimate than the sorts of places the pair of them usually frequent. The lighting, she finds, is such that she can only describe it as 'mood lighting'. The background music is evidently there to try and set the scene. Romantic, she thinks, and then almost snorts.

Still, she keeps her findings to herself, because she doesn't want to make Kate uncomfortable. They may be on the brink of something wonderful and terrifying, but she knows it has to be a natural progression. If she mentions everything around her, Kate will either find it exceedingly funny, or feel forced into something. Which Osgood isn't willing to do.

So, for once, she ignores what she notices. Settles into the company and resolves to enjoy herself, whether it seems slightly too coupley or not. She lets the conversation wash over her, relaxes into the familiar sound of Kate's voice, light and carefree. Unburdened by the responsibility of her day job, so content here in Osgood's company. Even after all these years, Osgood still thinks of it as a privilege, to be allowed to be so close to such a woman.

For hours, the two converse over the table, paying very little attention to what they are actually eating. Time passes so quickly when it is just the two of them, Osgood thinks, that is actually a tad mysterious. It almost feels as though the world deliberately speeds up when it is just the two of them. Factually, she knows this isn't the case. Still, a small part of her holds by there being some unnatural cause behind it.

Eventually, the two of them come to and notice how much quieter the restaurant is now. Glancing around, she observes that the two of them a the last two customers and that it is much darker outside now then it ought to be. The two of them ask their waiter for the cheque, getting ready to quietly battle one another over whom will pay this time. She is determined that it will be her, because Kate always invariably seems to win these things.

It seems silly to most, that there is such a debate over these things, but it's just the way they are. When the waiter returns, they both reach for the cheque, wills silently battling. Osgood throws in what the boys would describe as her "puppy-dog eyes" as she looks at Kate, all wide eyes behind her glasses. She would be lying if she said she didn't notice the way Kate always seems to melt, just ever so slightly, whenever she looks at her like that. So of course, Kate acquiesces, and allows her to pay.

She would also be lying if she claimed that such an achievement didn't make her hoot in triumph, just a little (internally only, of course). She pays the bill, and the two of them go to collect their jackets. Because it may be July but the pair of them still keep strange hours, as well as living in England. Everything goes smoothly, that is, until they get to the jacket collection point. And then, of course, the kind man compliments them on their relationship, using phrases such as "close bond" and "evidently have been together for many years".

And they both find themselves blushing furiously, cheeks flaming. Osgood is almost certain she goes a rather unattractive shade of beet red, a shade she hasn't turned since year eleven when she had first kissed a girl. She can feel the flush all the way down her neck, disappearing behind the closed collar of her shirt, spreading its way down her chest. She's not the only one though, because Kate is blushing like a school girl too, cheeks burning red in the dim lighting of the restaurant.

Strangely enough, it is Osgood who recovers first. Which is odd, because it means that the normally unflappable composure of Kate Stewart has, in fact, been shaken. She recovers first and thanks the kind and somewhat bemused man, even if she stammers as she does so. She collects their light summer jackets from the man, smiling in response to his genuine smile. 

Gently, she takes Kate's hand, because she hasn't moved at all since the man had spoken to them, and she guides her out of the door of the restaurant. When they get outside, Osgood turns Kate to her, and takes a moment to simply look at her. Her mouth is slightly agape and her eyes ever so slightly out of focus, and it makes Osgood's heart sink a little bit. Because Kate looks shocked, almost as if it had never crossed her mind, that they could be mistaken for a couple. 

Where Osgood's eyes had lit up, because someone else had recognised whatever it was between them, Kate doesn't quite seem to understand it. Almost as if she had never contemplated such a thing. And maybe she hasn't. For the first time in years, Osgood finds herself questioning whatever is happening. She wonders, for a solid minute, whether all of this has been an elaborate scenario within her head.

After a minute of watching her, Kate seems to come back to herself. Startled back into the real world, perhaps by a passing car or because she finally noticed the change in temperature. She just looks at Osgood. And by the glow of the closest street lamp, Osgood watches Kate's cheeks colour once again. In a silent offering she holds up the older woman's jacket, seeing the goosebumps on her a arms for the first time. 

With a tiny noise of thanks Kate accepts her jacket, clearing her throat nervously. It seems to Osgood that she has found herself with a sudden inability to meet her eyes. What a wonderful development. The air between them feels stilted, awkward, for perhaps the first time since her divorce had been finalised, more than six years earlier. It makes her feel slightly uneasy, slightly ill. Because that is the last thing she wants. The two of them stand there, shifting nervously before the other one, the silence between them growing like a barrier neither one of them seems to know how to breach.

Eventually, Osgood puts them both out of their misery, breaking the barrier of silence, if not the awkwardness. She hails a taxi for Kate, because it is still early enough for her to get the Tube, and wishes her a good night. Normally, she would hug her goodbye, and tightly at that. She doesn't this time though, because Kate still won't meet her eyes, mumbles her goodnight whilst staring at the ground and shuffling her feet. She does stand and watch the taxi until it is out of sight though, because she would hardly be Osgood if she did not.

If, when she gets home and checks her phone, only to find it devoid of the usual texts she gets from Kate (to check that she got home safely), she tries her hardest not to focus on it. She spends a sleepless night resolutely trying her hardest not to think about Kate at all, because it makes her heart hurt in a way she isn't a fan of. Clenching tightly in a way that makes her want to whimper, uncertainty creeping into her for the first time in years.

The next day at work, she finds it incredibly hard to concentrate, Kate constantly creeping into her mind and distracting her from her work. To her credit, she is still diligent in her work, and manages to pass the day in a productive manner. And although she finds herself listening every time footsteps pass the doors of her lab, she doesn't go looking for Kate, as she would most other days.

Later on, when she goes for lunch in the canteen, she discovers the news that Kate had emailed her PA, in order to tell her she was sick. And wouldn't be in work for the rest of the day. It makes Osgood's heart sink in her chest, because she knows (as simply as she knows the earth is spinning) that Kate isn't here because of her. And because of the awkwardness last night.

For three of the longest days of Osgood's career at UNIT, perhaps of her life (including those three sleepless days of back to back exams, in her third year of university), Osgood doesn't see Kate. For the first time in years, there is nothing but radio silence between the two of them, and she doesn't quite know how she feels about it. For once, she isn't even sure how Kate feels about it either and it is that uncertainty that keeps her up at night.

A part of her is tempted to hunt the other woman down, turn up at her house after work with a Chinese, just so the two of them can talk about it. The same way they talk about everything except their love lives. But something stops her. She needs Kate to make the next move, needs to know what is running through her head. Needs Kate to be honest and brave in all of this, if there is something to be brave for. So she waits and she works, and she avoids her colleagues like the plague. Because she doesn't want to try and explain things to them.

Doesn't want to have to explain why her shoulders are hunched. Or why the spaces beneath her eyes look bruised, no matter how much concealer she had tried to cover them with. Doesn't want to explain the evident despondency written all over her face. Because she knows it is, but she can't seem to help it. It's something about knowing that Kate is actively avoiding her. Which is a new sensation, it's never happened before. Without a doubt, it's something she never thought would be necessary. At all.

She finds herself hurt on more than one count. Because why couldn't Kate just talk to her? They talk about everything, and if she'd needed space, all she had to do was ask. Osgood would give her the moon if it was all she desired, so space wouldn't have been a stretch. Also, was the idea of being with Osgood really so horror inducing? Enough so that she could excuse avoiding her for such a period of time? Kate's reaction had given Osgood pause, because it had made her rethink everything. From where she thought they had been headed (and relatively soon) to the very dynamic they held as best friends.

So, in order to avoid thinking about such things, Osgood throws herself into her work with as much gusto as she can muster. Her enthusiasm sends her productivity sky rocketing, and her dedication to UNIT is made even more evident than before. In the space of three days, she logs nearly as many hours as her team log on an individual basis in a week. And if she's tired, she hardly pauses to realise, because at least if she's buried in her work she is distracted.

Late on the third night, or perhaps very early on the fourth morning, of this new and self destructive routine (depending on an individual's perspective), she is so consumed by her work that she doesn't hear the footsteps outside of the lab. The footsteps that pause outside lab 00-6, rather than passing it by, which is rare in itself. But Osgood doesn't notice. Too wrapped up in her work, she doesn't notice as the door creaks inwards, doesn't notice the sound of heels tapping on the stone floor. Doesn't notice that anyone is with her, until out of the corner of her eye, she sees a familiar body leaning against the work bench.

And it makes her pause in her work, just for a second, because her heart speeds up at the sight if the other woman. Then of course, she continues in her work with due diligence, not to be distracted by something such as feelings. Not even for Kate. Especially not when she has had to deal with being ignored for three consecutive days. The next time she pauses in her work, in order to find a pen to annotate her findings, she finds herself studying Kate out of the corner of her eye.

She can feel that she is being watched, and that Kate knows she is making a point of ignoring her presence, even if just for the mean time. She's being watched intently, almost as if Kate can't bear to look away, and she'll be damned if she ever admits (even to herself) how much it makes her heart skip a beat. She's not ignoring Kate's presence to hurt her, or as a petty revenge, because that is not how Osgood functions. Rather, it is because she needs a moment to collect herself, before they have whatever conversation is to come.

So she takes her time finishing up her particular task, reading back through her readings and the annotations she has made, making sure it is adequate work. She may be slightly distracted, after all, but she'll be damned if she lets it affect the quality of her work. And then, when she is sure she is done, she takes a deep breath, places her findings and pen back down on the work top, and turns to face Kate.

For a second, her heart breaks, because Kate looks as tired and nervous as she feels, and she hates the idea of Kate suffering in any way. Then she is distracted because Kate is looking at her so intently, eyes so focused upon her that it leaves her slightly breathless. It feels as though Kate is seeing all of her in that moment, every last part of her. And it leaves her feeling slightly vulnerable, cracked open and laid bare.

Kate is leaning back against the work top in Osgood's lab, hands buried deep within her suit trouser pockets. And even though Osgood can see the emotions playing through Kate's eyes, her posture is relaxed and she seems at ease. Osgood can feel how rigid she is, wound and tense enough to snap if she moves in the wrong way. The tension only gets worse when, and Osgood is half certain she imagines it, after a solid minute of staring at one another, Kate's eyes had left hers, in order to track over her body in a slow and deliberate fashion.

Osgood would be lying if she said it didn't send heat spiking through her, she would be lying if she said it didn't set her heart racing and make her mouth feel parched. She would be lying if she didn't admit that she had to physically stop herself from fanning herself with her hand, because it seemed like a good idea at the time. She can tell that Kate does it intentionally, and she can feel the heat in her cheeks as a response. Awkwardly, she clears her throat, and Kate's smirk is enough to send her heart into over drive.

And then she reminds herself why they are here, and exactly how long Kate has been avoiding her. And though she can still feel her heart thundering in her chest, it brings the hurt back to the forefront, and she looks at Kate. Really looks at her, in hopes that she will be brave enough to start the conversation that Osgood can't quite seem to push them into. Kate must see the request in her eyes, as well as the hurt, because she shifts herself closer to Osgood. Still leaning against the work bench, she reaches out for her hand, running her fingers along the bumps of her knuckles.

She keeps her eyes trained on Kate's eyes, and not on their joined hands, resting on the work top between them. A part of her thinks it really is that easy, as easy as a simple act, but the larger and far more sensible part of her knows that they need to talk about it. She needs to know what they are, or what they will be. Almost as much as she needs to breathe. Every part of her aches to know. Because her faith in what is between them has been shaken, even if only slightly, from their very foundations.

Before, she would willingly have gone on waiting for a lifetime. But a kind man in a small French bistro had unknowingly pushed them into something, encouraged whatever it was between them to blossom faster, and Kate's reaction had meant they couldn't go on ignoring it, couldn't just brush it off.

It actually has to be talked about, and she thinks they both know it. She wills Kate to start the conversation, to breach the silence between them, because she just doesn't know how to start. And for once, she can't bring herself to be brave. She isn't sure why, but she needs Kate to be the one to breach this. With words rather than actions. Because she is Osgood, and she needs to talk it through, and she thinks maybe Kate knows that. Hopes she does.

So, when Kate finally does break the silence, with such a mundane beginning to what she thinks will be a life changing, or at least altering, conversation, she almost wants to laugh. With her thumb still stroking over Osgood's knuckles on the work top she breaches the silence with a simple "Hello." 

And it is so very Kate that she can't help but smile, because what else was she to expect? It's as good a start to a conversation as she could have hoped for, and it means that the silence between them is breached. She finds that she doesn't know quite what to say, now that the conversation is happening. She finds herself rearranging her glasses on her face although they were already perched in a suitably comfortable position.

After a moment of thought, she decides that it would just be best to dive straight in. Because she is Osgood and Kate is Kate, and direct has always suited them best. Still, she tries her hardest to be careful with her phrasing, so that she doesn't sound accusatory. "Any particular reason for your three day absence?" She finds that she doesn't succeed, so she dives in even deeper, "I mean, apart from, maybe, avoiding me?" The last part is mumbled, and her eyes drop away from Kate's for a brief second.

When she looks back up, it is to find Kate looking somewhat sheepish. In a manner that only Kate ever could be. She's studiously examining the way their hands are linked together on the work bench, biting the corner of her lip in a way that makes her look extremely contrite. And even though they are just beginning a serious conversation, Osgood can't help but make note of how adorable such a look is.

Kate replies, in a fashion, mumbling her words with her head bowed slightly, hair making a curtain around her face. "I needed some time" she mumbles, hair muffling her reply even further "to think about... About us. Because we're such good friends, more than friends, have been for years. And it scared me, that the rest of the world could see what I wasn't ready to admit."

It frustrates Osgood to no end that she can't see Kate's face, but she waits patiently for her to finish before she does anything about it. The last thing she wants, after all, is to make Kate uncomfortable by initiating contact she doesn't want right now. Not now that the conversation is finally happening. When Kate finishes, Osgood moves her hair away from her face and tucks it behind her ears. Then, when Kate doesn't pull away, she gently pulls her chin up, using only a thumb and a forefinger. 

Without moving her hand away, because Kate doesn't pull away, Osgood replies. "In future, please just tell me you need space, because I understand. This, whatever it is, is hard and big and scary. If you want friendship, I won't push you. Whatever you want is enough for me, always has been."

And she is surprised when she sees tears starting to run soundlessly down Kate's face, running down her cheeks faster than Osgood can move to catch them. So she draws Kate into her, gather her to her front, and leans back against the work top so she can support them both. Kate's head rests against her shoulder, pressed into the side of her neck. She keeps her arms wrapped tightly around Kate, fingers resting on her back, tracing nonsensical patterns.

She knows that the conversation has only just begun, and that they are probably both facing another sleepless night. She knows that it will be an emotional, and perhaps draining night. But she has hope, because they pair of them are finally ready to talk. Finally, after so much waiting, she can have hope that the two of them are sufficiently ready. She thinks, that maybe, just maybe, they are. Because they were finally brave enough to start to talk about what has built between them. So maybe, just maybe, they might make each other brave enough to face the future together.

Osgood resolves, as she holds Kate to her chest, that she will be brave enough for this astounding woman. Will be honest and open and brave and true. Will love her in the way she deserves to be loved and will expect nothing in return. She resolves, as Kate cries into her neck, that for Kate she can be brave enough. Can be open enough. Can be enough. Because they have waited for one another for long enough, and they have been brave for one another enough times. And the fact that Kate makes her want to be brave rather than meek in the first place makes all of it more than worth while.


End file.
